Thursday, May 27, 2010

Wednesday, I spent the day out with Carson and Carter. We had an errand to run in Bowling Green, so we made a day of it.

First we stopped by school and saw my kids. Jalen was so excited I was back, but I had to burst his bubble and let him know I was only visiting. They were so excited to see Carter for the first time. We had to take a group picture to show Carter's first day of school!

After a crazy trip to get our church's Hot Rods tickets for Saturday, we stopped by our favorite place in the world, Chaney's Dairy Barn (aka Chinese Dairy Barn according to Carson).

Carson enjoyed his Blue Moon ice cream.

Carter enjoyed his bottle.

And me? I enjoyed my strawberry cheesecake ice cream of course!

Tomorrow is the last day of school. I'll be glad to have all 3 of my boys home with me. There's no telling what we will get into this summer!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Actually, I am not carrying a purse these days. When I'm out and about, you'll find that I'm carrying a diaper bag (either the one from the hospital, my blue one I got for Valentine's Day from the boys, or the Army one Ms. Joan from church made). So, what's in side?

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The government is wanting to pass a bill that will require doctors to inform them of our children's body mass index when they come to the doctor. If your child is found to be obese, you will receive communication from the government in order to receive counseling.

Now, we our government can afford to spend money to try to get this bill passed and if it does they will have to pay people to reinforce it. Yet, approximately 30,000 teachers across the US are having their jobs cut because of budget cuts.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Another Not Me, Monday! If you like mine, head over to MckMama's page to read more. Just the chance to playoff all the crazy stuff that did or did not happen the past week.

Recently, before a chilly, drizzling evening for a Pee Wee Baseball game, after pouring myself a cup of coffee and setting it down in the living room, I did not get distracted and pour myself another cup. I am completely sane and would never do such a thing.

While waiting for the doctor to come in to the exam room to look over my 2 month old for his well baby visit, I did not pass gas. When Carson asked, "Mama, did you toot?" I did not blame it on the baby. I am much more sophisticated than that.

After leaving the doctor's office, my two youngest boys and I stopped at Dunkin Donuts. When we got back in the car, I did not eat the only donut my husband had asked me to get for him because it was starting to melt in the humidity.

While helping my husband look for a book he had bought during his visit to Japan, I did not ask him what it was about. Any fool would know it would have been about Japan.

This morning while changing Carter's diaper, I did not get pooped on. I am always careful to remove the diaper slowly to watch and listen for surprises. Just wondering if that is any indicatation on how this day will go?!?!

Furthermore, when my four year old asked for Cheetos and milk for breakfast, I did not allow him to have them while I ate my Special K. I would never allow my kids to eat such junk.

While bending over to pick up Carter's paci the other day, I did not rip the zipper out of my shorts. Hence the need for Special K.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Set an example of good works yourself, with integrity and dignity in your teaching. Titus 2:7

These past few days I have been reminded about what an awesome responsibility and blessing it is to be a mom.

I think of my children as MINE. However, I have been reminded that my children are HIS.

You see, God chose me to be the earthly guardian of these precious children. It is my responsibility to take care of them and raise them to be Christian men. Ultimately, we are all God's children. When He makes us parents, God is choosing those he wants to care for His children until they are returned to Him.

I stop to think about what an awesome responsibility that is. God CHOSE me and Jeffrey to be the parents of Colin, Carson, and Carter. He knew that we are what those children need. Now, we are to care for them and raise them for Him. We are to help them become the God fearing men that He has planned.

Yesterday during Sunday School, we were asked to say something good about our moms. Then we were asked, "What do you want your children to say about you when they are adults?"

Wow! What a question!

I hope that my children can say that they never had a doubt that I loved them. Everything I did for them was out of love. I want them to say that I did the best I could to raise them in a Christian home, that I taught them about Jesus and helped them to know and love Him. I want them to say I put them above my own selfishness, that I thought of them and their daddy before I thought of myself. I want them to say that I provided for them the best I could, that I knew how to have fun with them. I want them to say I was forgiving and compassionate. I want them to say they saw Jesus in me. I want them to be thankful that God chose me to be their mom. I want them to rise up and call me blessed!

Yesterday at church, Bro. Copass talked about motherhood as a divine calling. We must remember that Christian mothers can NOT do it alone. We need the help of our Christian husbands, church, and most importantly, our Heavenly Father. We must be willing to admit that we are not perfect. We must be willing to ask for help. We must be willing to be a Christian example to our children.

As we sang the hymn of invitation, I got to thinking about the day I received Jesus as my Savior. That was the best decision I have ever made, not only for me, but also for my children. You see, I had gone to see Bro. Copass about dedicating Colin to the Lord before our church. As we talked, he asked me the most important question, a question that had never been asked to me before. He asked, "Have you received Jesus as your personal Savior?" I just knew he thought I was crazy. My answer was no, but here I was wanting to dedicate my precious child to the Lord. But you know what? Bro. Copass didn't think any less of me. He helped me to see that it was just as important for me to be a Christian mother and wife as it was to want to dedicate my son. So that day, Friday, June 18. 2004, I made a decision that affected my entire family. I admitted that I couldn't do it alone, that I knew who Jesus was and believed in Him and his resurrection with all my heart, and that I needed Him to save me and change my life. He promised me He would, and He hasn't let me down.

That following Sunday as we dedicated Colin to our Lord, I made a public profession of my faith in Jesus. Following me down the aisle was my husband. Wow! A month later, we were baptized in front of our friends, family, and Heavenly Father. Since then, God has worked wonders in our lives. We are totally dedicated to serving God. We teach Sunday School, serve as nursery workers, Jeffrey serves as a deacon, and is working toward becoming an Army Chaplain. I teach VBS each summer and have had the amazing opportunity to lead children to Christ, and have invited women into my home for Bible study. My mother and father in law were baptized and joined the church. Colin opened his heart to Jesus and was baptized. God isn't finished with us. I am not boasting about me and my husband. This is not our work, but rather the work of our Lord. This is all HIM.

We each have been blessed with gifts. I have been blessed with the gift of motherhood. With that gift comes responsibility. God used my oldest son to reach me, a lost mother who wanted to raise her child in a Christian home. I owe it to Him to train up these children in the way they should go, so that when they are old, they will not depart from it.

During the invitation yesterday, a young mother came forward and surrendered her life to Jesus. I was so happy for her as I knew she was making the best decision of her life, not only for her, but also for her family. What an amazing Mother's Day gift she was able to give!

Today, I am working on managing my time a little better, taking advantage of each little nap and sleeping child. I am starting a new personal Bible study. I have completed several in this series, but today, I am beginning Receiving God's Goodness.

This morning before Colin left for school (and his big field trip to the Hot Rods game), I told him to be good. One of the first things I ask my kids after we are apart is, "Were you good?" I know my children (like me) are not perfect and we aren't always going to be good. They may color their hands with marker at school instead of doing center work. I may spend too much time on the computer instead of reading my Bible. They may not share their toys and fight over them. I may make too many trips to the candy basket to get a chocolate drop. They may lose their tempers and hit one another. I may lose my temper and yell.

Sometimes it is hard to be good and sometimes it is easy.

Regardless, no matter how my kids behave, I love them. Nothing they do or could do will ever change that. They are mine. God blessed me with them. I take pride in being their mom. Yea, I get upset with them and discipline them, but I love them. I'll forgive them time and again. They don't have to be good to be loved by me.

In the same way, we don't have to be good to earn God's love. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus didn't die for us because of our goodness. He died for us because we were are sinners. We could never be good enough to get into heaven.

The last statement in the introduction to this week's study in Receiving God's Goodness is "Salvation isn't a matter of being good enough. It's a matter of God's goodness."

That statement is so true. Time and again I have told you that I am not perfect (shocker, right?). If God expected me to be in order to spend eternity with Him, I'd never get there. I try hard not to stuff my mouth with chocolate drops, but sometimes I fail. I try hard not to lose my temper with my kids, but sometimes I fail. I try hard not to get caught up in gossip, but sometimes I fail. When I fail, it doesn't mean that God loves me any less. He expects me to confess these sins to Him, to ask for forgiveness, to look to Him for the strength and wisdom of how to not fall to these sins again.

He is teaching me how to make better grab and go choices throughout the day when I want to eat something yummy. He is teaching me how to pick my battles with my kids (ignoring whining and complaining worked wonders over the last few days). He has allowed me to surround myself with Christian women who are not interested in gossip and only interested in pleasing Him in our actions and words. Are these the only areas I am weak in? Not at all, but God is helping me.

I'm not saying that we don't need to strive to be good. Please don't think that. All I am saying is that we are going to mess up. We have to admit when we mess up and ask God to help us get better. We are a work in progress. God will reward us for our goodness only after we become His.

I am absolutely in love with the book of Romans in the Bible. There are so many wonderful passages that show us God's love for us. None of them has to do with being good enough, but they deal with God's goodness and love for us, especially when we receive His son, Jesus Christ.

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1

"Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7:24-25

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God." Romans 8:28

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39

"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9-10

Father, I thank you for Jesus, that He came to earth to die for me. Lord, I know that if salvation was based on my deeds, I'd never be good enough to spend eternity with you. I thank you for those who taught me about Jesus and the path of salvation. I know in my heart that there is no other road to You, Lord. I pray that if there is someone trying to "work their way" to you, that you would stop them in their tracks and let them see that they will never be good enough to do that. I pray that they would see the light in Jesus and by faith, open their heart to Him. Amen.